Illustrative photo (Photo: thestar.com.my)Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysia approved a totalinvestment of about 265 billion ringgit (58.53 billion USD) last year, thesecond largest of its kind after 2021 and estimated to create over 140,000 new jobs,according to International Trade and Industry Minister Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.
Speaking to the media after an event on investment onMarch 8, Zafrul Aziz said that theservices sector is the major contributor with 154 billion ringgit, followed byan 84.3 billion ringgit boost in the manufacturing sector and 26.3 billionringgit in the primary sector.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) remained the major contributorto the total approved investments at 61.7% or 163.3 billion ringgit, whiledomestic direct investment (DDI) contributed 38.3% or 101.3 billion ringgit.
Last year, China was Malaysia’s biggest foreigninvestor with an investment of 12.5 billion USD. Other major investors inMalaysia included the US with 6.26 billion USD, the Netherlands with 4.51billion USD, Singapore with 2.99 billion USD, and Japan with 2.52 billion USD.
Malaysia targets a 20% increase in approved investmentsin 2023 compared to 2022, said Minister Zafrul.
The official acknowledged that this is a difficult goal,especially in the context of many challenges including the UK's interest ratehike, the Russia -Ukraine conflict, and the competition to attract foreigninvestors in the region.
He emphasised that Malaysia needs to ensure a favourableinvestment environment and long-term investments./.
